Don't Move Another Step
by Topazicatzbeth
Summary: When Steve and Danny chase up a lead on a missing suspect they land themselves in trouble. Whump for both boys.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Next one is ready to go thanks to Wenwalke and her amazing beta skills.**

**Disclaimer: Just doing this for fun. I make no money and do not own H50.**

**Chapter One**

"Mark Pike is a very dangerous man, and is wanted in connection with several different murders, both here, and on the mainland. We are appealing to the public for information on his whereabouts, as he has managed to avoid the authorities for the past week now. This man is solely responsible for the death of two young teenagers, and the injury of many others, when one of his home-made devices detonated by a school. We, at 5-0, have been working hard to track down this man, but with no leads we are now appealing for the public's help. We have issued pictures of Mark Pike, but I want to stress that if members of the public do see him, they should not approach him. Simply contact HPD." Danny spoke from his podium at the front of the room, the presses camera's all focused on him. "I now have a few minutes to answer any questions."

"You know. I don't know why he put up such a fight about going up there? He is really good at this." Kono whispered to Chin and Steve at the back of the room.

"He just doesn't like the attention." Steve whispered back.

"Let's hope this isn't for nothing then, and we get a decent lead so we can catch the bastard. We have more than enough evidence to link him to the bombing at the high school; we just need to find him." Chin sighed.

The team had been working hard all week after being called into investigate the bombing, and after finally getting footage of the bomber planting the bomb under a tree at the high school, they had managed to identify the man as Mark Pike, former janitor at the school. They had investigated him and found that he had moved to Hawaii the year before from Maryland, where he had been suspected of an arson case at the school he worked at. The principle had died, trapped in his office. But with no solid evidence to link him, the case had ground to a halt. Desperate to try and track Pike down, the team had been forced to turn to the media, and public, for help.

"That is all for today, thank you for your help." Danny said. He stepped down from the podium and headed to the back of the room to join the team. "Man they were like vultures picking over a carcass."

"But you handled them well, Danno, ever the professional." Steve joked pulling Danny's tie.

Danny frowned and removed the tie, shoving it deep into his pocket. "Of course I'm professional, Steven. Let's just hope we get a decent lead from this, and not half the island ringing in from all over the island in a panic."

"Come on let's go get some lunch, then we can head back to the office. The news should have gone out by then, and we can start working through any reports." Steve said leading the way out past the reporters packing away their filming equipment.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

As they walked back to the office, Danny's phone rang. A smile spread over his face as he saw the caller ID. "Hey monkey, you enjoying your week with your mom?" Rachel's return to the island had been well timed. Grace was spending the week with her, which had allowed Danny to spend as much time as he needed on the case.

"Oh, you saw the news huh...I don't really think that makes me famous, Grace. It was just a press conference... No we haven't caught him yet, they only just aired the thing didn't they?...you really didn't need to text all your friends...oh they already saw...ok, monkey I have to go work now...love you sweetheart.. I'll see you Monday, after school."

Steve smiled listening to the one sided conversation, as Danny hung up, Steve laughed, "See, I was right to make you do the press conference, now your daughter idolises you."

"She idolises him already, brah." Chin said before heading off to his office.

"That is true." Steve acknowledged and gained a big smile from Danny.

"She saw the midday news and immediately text her friends, apparently they are all going to be watching the evening addition." Danny explained.

"Ha, you'll be popular at school now." Kono laughed.

"He already is," Steve teased, "you should see all the single moms fawn over him."

Chin exited his office, "well the calls have started already. We have 5 sightings so far. I think we can write this one off straight away." He said passing the report to Danny

"Ha, yeah. I don't really think Pike would want to steal some old ladies cat." Seeing Steve and Kono's raised eyebrows, Danny explained, "Some old dear apparently saw Pike stealing her cat and drive off, and I quote, with an evil look in his eye." Danny said using air quotes.

The team spent the rest of the day going over the calls that came in, working out which might be viable leads. It was painstakingly slow and frustrating, and by the end of the day they still didn't have any thing to work with, so decided to call it a day.

The next morning they started early and were shocked with the number of reports that had come in over night. Splitting them up, they each took a pile and started to work their way through them, making contact with any that seemed plausible. Around 10 am Danny came out of his office and called to the others, "hey guys, I think I may have something. I just spoke with a Julia Lovegood who went out on a few dates with Pike last month. She is coming in to speak with us. See if she can tell us anything about him we don't already know."

"Good work, Danny. Maybe she knows somewhere he might be lying low. It's worth a try." Steve said relieved to have a possible lead.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Thanks for all the reviews. To the guest who just got out of hospital. Hope you are on the mend. **

**On with the whump.**

**Chapter Two**

Julia Lovegood nervously entered the 5-0 offices and was greeted by Danny, who introduced himself and the rest of the team. Danny showed her into his office, and Steve joined them, while the others waited outside.

"Thank you once again, Miss Lovegood, for coming down here." Danny said pulling his desk chair around so there was no barrier between them, and making it less formal. Steve let Danny take the lead, so leaned back against the desk.

"It's fine, if I can help in any way. Like I said on the phone, Mark and I went out about five times, he seamed nice at first, but then he started to get a bit needy, intense."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Danny asked.

"About three weeks ago when I broke it off. He just said, ok, and left. I was surprised how well he took it, after how he had been before."

"While you were dating, did he mention having any other properties on the island or places he liked to go?" Danny continued to question.

"We went for a hike once, and he showed me this old cabin, told me he hoped to track down the owner and buy it. He wanted to do it back up, as it was so run down. Said it could be our weekend retreat. That was what first scared me off. It was too soon to be planning a future."

"Do you remember where this cabin was?" Steve piped up from behind Danny.

"I think I could point it out on a map." Julia replied.

"Is there anywhere else you can think of that he might go?" Danny asked.

Julia thought for a while. "The only other place I can think of is a motel at the north shore. The Paradise Inn, I think. He told me he stayed there when he first moved to Hawaii. He made good friends with the guy who ran it."

"Thank you Miss Lovegood. You have been a big help." Danny said shaking her hand and showing her out of his office. "Do you think you could show Lieutenant Kelly where the cabin was?"

"Sure." she replied heading over to the smart table with Chin.

"Kono, can you get us an address for a Paradise Inn on the north shore. It's a possible location for Pike.

"On it boss." She said racing to her office.

"So what are you thinking?" Danny asked.

"We split up. Chin and Kono can take the Inn, we can hit the cabin." Steve explained.

"Ok, I'll call HPD and arrange back up." Danny said pulling his phone out.

"No, don't bother. It's not a very strong lead. It could be a total waste of our time. We'll check it out alone." Steve said heading to get his vest and extra amo clips.

"Great." Danny sighed, heading over and joining him.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

The Camaro pulled up outside the old rundown shack, and both Steve, and Danny, quickly exited, dressed in their vests. With guns drawn they efficiently moved towards the front door.

"If he did come here, he must be pretty desperate. This place doesn't look like anyone has been here for years." Danny whispered to Steve.

"I agree, but we have to check it out." Steve replied as he positioned himself by the door ready to kick it in. "Hopefully Chin and Kono are having more luck. I want that scumbag Pike behind bars."

"Me too," Danny said giving Steve the nod that he was ready. Steve swiftly kicked the door in, which didn't take much given the rundown state of the termite infested cabin. Danny moved in and went to his left, Steve following, breaking right. They soon stopped and holstered their guns when they realised the cabin consisted of only one room, and there was obviously no one there. There was a single bed at one side, pushed up against the wall and the other side had a metal coal stove, a small table and chair, and the remains of a raggedy old couch.

Danny walked around the edge of the room and over to an old desk. Opening the draws, he found them empty, but noticed to the side of the desk there was a trap door. "Steve, here," Danny called drawing his gun again.

Steve joined him, gun ready and bent down to lift the hatch. "Err, why don't I do that? It's your turn to take point." Danny said stalling Steve.

"Really, it's my turn?" Steve smirked.

"Yep, your turn."

"And the fact that it probably leads down into a small, dark, did I say small, cellar has nothing to do with it." Steve said with glee.

"Shut up, and just do it." Danny said irritated.

"You gonna have my back?"

"Don't I always? Just, do it. I'll follow." Danny demanded irked by Steve's question.

"Course you do bud, I'm just messing with you," Steve said slapping Danny on the back then turning on the light on his gun. Danny lifted the hatch and Steve entered pointing his gun into every corner of the stone built foundations of the cabin. Danny was halfway down the wooden steps when Steve called out, "don't come down any more Danny. There's nothing down here. It's just an old coal store."

Danny gratefully turned and headed back up the stairs, each step creaked as he did so and the stairs wobbled. Steve followed up after him, and when he was almost to the top the last step gave way, causing him to suddenly drop as the rest of the stairs crumbled. Steve had managed to catch himself, his head, shoulders, and arms above the trap door desperately clinging on, while his legs swung trying to find some purchase.

Danny quickly grabbed Steve under the arms and helped hoist him up. Steve finally got his knee over the opening and was able to push himself over the top. They both fell back panting for breath.

"Thanks...told you...you...always...have my...back." Steve said between pants.

"You're welcome. Now can we get the hell out of here? Pike obviously hasn't been here." Danny said rising to his feet and offering Steve a hand up.

"Yeah, come on, this place is a death trap." Steve said heaving himself up, and they both made their way towards the door, Steve leading the way. As he hit the centre of the room he heard the tell tale groaning and splintering of wood. "Danny, freeze." He yelled. "Don't move another step."

Danny had immediately frozen in place, and looked at Steve confused. "What?" He asked as Steve looked over his shoulder.

"I think the whole floor is unstable, I just heard it give way a bit. Take slow steady steps."

"Oh that's just great, isn't it?" Danny said inching towards Steve. "We're stuck in a run down death trap."

"We're not stuck. I'm just saying take it easy." Steve said taking another step forward, followed by another one. The groaning increased in volume and a sudden crack echoed around the small cabin, before the whole floor gave way, and both men dropped out of sight into the basement below, a cloud of dust rising and filling the room.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Thanks once again for the reviews. Glad I was able to surprise some of you with the whump process. **

**Chapter Three**

Danny slowly came too and coughed to clear the dust from his lungs. His chest felt tight, and he could feel one of his ribs on his left side grating with every breath. He raised his head and saw one of the supporting beams lying across his stomach, splintered wood surrounding him everywhere. "Steve?" He yelled and listened for a reply. "Steve, are you ok?" He yelled louder causing his lungs to seize, and he was wracked with coughs.

Realising he needed to find Steve, he gathered all his energy, and with shaking arms managed to push the beam off of his abdomen and slide out from underneath it. Taking a second to catch his breath, and blink away the dots that were dancing around the edge of his vision, he raised his right hand to his head and felt the gash in his hairline, his fingers coming away bloody. "Steve?" He called again looking around him, and in the direction he last saw his partner standing. The hole was gloomy, but enough light was filtering in from the room upstairs that he could see Steve lying a few feet away from him.

Danny crawled over to Steve's side, closing gap between them in seconds, and trying to ignore the pain in his left shoulder. He reached over and felt for Steve's pulse, and was relieved to find it beating strong and even under his fingers. "Steve, buddy. Wake up." Danny saw a gash at Steve's hair line that matched his own, and also like his own, Steve's arms and face were covered in dirt and tiny cuts from the wood. Danny's eyes roamed further down Steve's body, and he sucked in a breath when he saw Steve's left leg bent at an awkward angle from the knee, indicating it was dislocated. Steve startled Danny with a sudden groan as he started to regain consciousness. Danny placed a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder. "Steve, wake up. Come on man, enough sleeping."

Steve blinked his eyes open, and croaked, "Danny? What happened? Oh shit." He screamed as the pain from his knee hit, and he tried to sit up and grab his knee. Danny quickly restrained Steve, forcing him to lie back down.

"Steve, you need to keep still, your knee is dislocated. I think you landed funny on it."

"No shit, Sherlock." Steve bit back, his eyes screwed shut. "Oh god Danny, you have to put it back in for me. I can't do it myself.

"I know it hurts, buddy, but I think that is probably a job for the professionals." Danny replied grabbing Steve's hand and letting him squeeze it to ride out some of the pain.

"You need...to check for a pulse...in my foot." Steve panted.

"I'll have to remove your boot Steve, that's gonna hurt."

"Just do it Danny." Steve ordered as he pulled off his glove and bit down on it.

Danny cautiously removed Steve's boot and sock, trying to ignore the groans coming from his best friend. In the dull light Danny could already see that the limb was a dusky colour, and he wasn't surprised, when try as he might, he couldn't find a pulse. "I can't find one Steve."

"Shit, Danny. I need you to relocate it for me, now." Steve said then gritted his teeth.

"Babe, I don't know how. I don't think I can." Danny said fear evident in his voice.

"Yes you can, Danny. You have to or I'll lose my leg. Please you gotta try. You just have to pull real hard and it should pop back in." Steve pleaded.

"Ok, ok. I got you babe." Danny said moving down to get into a better position. Steve grabbed hold of some wood either side of himself to try and brace his position, "you ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Do it." Steve replied and closed his eyes.

Danny pulled as hard, and as fast, as he could, wanting to limit the amount of time he was causing his best friend more pain. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder and rib, along with the ache in his stomach, he pulled with all his might as Steve let out a blood curdling scream. Finally, he was rewarded with a pop, as the knee joint slid back into its natural position. He lowered the limb back down to the floor, and looked up at his partner. Steve was once again unconscious, and a quick check of his pulse, told Danny that he has most likely passed out from the pain.

A quick check of Steve's foot allowed Danny to breathe out a sigh of relief, as the pulse beat away, and the colour immediately started to improve. Realising he needed to act quickly to secure the limb, while Steve was still out so he didn't cause him more pain, he grabbed a piece of floor board and placed it behind Steve's leg to act as a splint. He then looked around for something to secure it with, before remembering the tie screwed up in his pocket from the press conference.

He quickly slid Steve's knife out of its holder on the tac vest and sliced the tie in two, not even taking a second to dwell on the fact that it was one of his favourite. He then secured them around Steve's thigh, and calf, hoping that the splint would provide some comfort to his best friend. Checking Steve's pulse once more for good measure, he sat back down and pulled out his phone, not at all surprised to find no signal.

Steve groaned, alerting Danny to his reawakening, so he moved towards his head. "Steve, you back with me?"

"Unfortunately," Steve croaked, "Sorry. I didn't mean to pass out."

"It's probably a good thing you did. I'm gonna be hearing that pop for several weeks." Danny smiled.

"Did you check the pulse?"

"Yep, all good, and your leg is nice and pink again." Danny reassured. "Now how about the rest of you?"

"I'm fine." Steve replied and shifted a little and grimaced, his hand going to his chest.

"Sure you are, let's get this thing off you." Danny replied starting to release the Velcro on Steve's vest.

"Ok, I think I broke a rib, but that's it honest, what about you?" Steve answered sliding out of the vest.

"Bit beat up, and I'm pretty sure I'm joining you in the broken rib department, but I'll live." Danny replied removing his own vest and tossing it to the side. He slowly rotated his left shoulder to try and relieve the sharp pain he kept getting in it.

"Your shoulder hurting?" Steve said sitting up, noticing the splint on his leg, and just stared at the material circling it.

"Yeah, I must have landed on it." Danny replied then smiled when he saw Steve staring at his handy work. "See, people do wear ties in Hawaii."

"Ha, ha," Steve replied sarcastically. "Looks like you did a pretty good job, how long 'till help gets here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I guess Chin, and Kono, will realise we are missing after a while, depends how well things have gone at their end."

Steve's face dropped, "what, you haven't called for help? I though help was on the way when you said leave my leg to the professionals."

"Babe, I have no signal. I just meant when we did get out of here." Danny explained.

"Shit." Steve replied dropping his head back then jerking it forward he exclaimed, "I have a sat phone in the glove box of the car."

"Well isn't that just wonderful, we're saved. Except the damn car, is up there." Danny said pointing upwards, "and we, we my friend, are stuck down here." Danny ranted.

"Ok, I'm sorry. Don't get mad at me." Steve shouted.

"Mad at you, I think I'm entitled to be a bit mad at you. After all, it was your idea to come out here in the first place without any back up. If we had back up, they would have us out of here by now."

"We didn't have a good enough lead to waste HPD's time, Danny. And how was I supposed to know the place was rotten. Maybe, if you hadn't had that extra Malasada this morning?"

Danny turned his head to look at Steve, his eyes wide with anger, "excuse me? Are you saying I'm fat? And that's why the floor collapsed."

"I told you to step carefully, Danny." Steve yelled back.

"I did, you arse. I think you must have a brain injury, 'cos you would remember that it was you that actually took a step forward, and then the floor collapsed. So actually this is all, your fault." Danny yelled back.

"My fault, why is everything always my fault?" Steve shouted and sat forward only to yelp as his leg moved a little.

Danny was by his side in a second, "hey, take it easy. Try not to move it. It's already swollen to twice its normal size." Easing Steve back down he locked eyes with him, and they both started to laugh. "Sorry." Danny said taking a seat next to his injured friend.

"Me too, and you're not fat. I actually don't know how you manage to eat all that crap and stay in good shape."

"It's the genes, babe." Danny smiled then sighed. "Ok, so we have a sat phone in the car, I just need to get to said car."

"You?" Steve asked raising his eyebrows.

"Well you obviously aren't going anywhere on that bum knee." Danny replied. "How the hell do I get out of here, given you knocked the stairs down earlier?"

Steve looked around assessing the walls and the hole in the ceiling. Over in the far corned he saw a chink of light, and nodded over to Danny. "There, that's how you get out. It's access to outside. The coal would have been delivered and slid down a shoot into the cabin. It should be big enough for you to crawl up, and hopefully not too steep."

Danny slowly stood, and paused for a second, as the black dots danced across his vision once more.

"You ok?" Steve asked concerned when he saw Danny falter.

"Yeah," Danny said shaking his head clear and heading over to the opening. On all fours Danny tilted his head to look up the shoot. "Are you kidding me? Have you seen how narrow this thing is? No way, Steve, I can't go up that thing."

"You'll fit Danny. It might be tight, but you'll fit."

"I don't care if I'll fit. I'm not going up that damn thing. I'm sorry I can't, it's too small." Danny said starting to panic.

"D, D," Steve shouted once more trying to get his friends attention. Danny slowly turned his head to Steve, "Its fine. It doesn't matter. We can just wait for Chin and Kono. You're right, they will realise we are missing before long, we can wait. Just get your breathing back under control."

Danny turned and sat back against the wall, bracing his rib. He looked over at Steve, who was sat up once again, and looked rather pale. This was stupid, if it was him that was hurt, Steve would've already climbed up and out, and have help on the way by now. He glanced back up the stone built slope. It was approximately 3 meters long and about half a meter square. It would be tight, but he would fit. "No. It's ok. I can do it. I'll do it." Danny whispered.

"Danny, you don't have to. It was a stupid idea, I didn't think about your claustrophobia."

"We need to get out of here so you can get some of the good stuff. And some ice for that knee. I can do it." Danny replied hauling himself up and back towards the opening. "If I get stuck though, you're gonna have to pull me back out."

"You won't get stuck. You got this, Danny." Steve reassured proud of Danny for attempting to over come his fears.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Danny started to climb the shoot. The only way he could fit was to raise his arms above his head. He was worried it would course extra pain in his shoulder, but was relieved when the sharp pain stayed the same. He slowly inched his way up the shoot, doing his best to keep his breathing even, and focus on the end ahead of him.

"You should see the size of the spiders in here." Danny yelled back to Steve as he rubbed his face on his shoulder to remove a large cobweb.

"You're not gonna tell me you have arachnophobia too, are you?" Steve yelled back.

"No I'm not Mr. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm human, Steve. I have flaws, and right now I'm facing one of them, so some words of encouragement would be nice."

"Sorry, I was just trying to distract you. Keep going, you're doing great." Steve yelled back.

Danny stopped to catch his breath, and give the pain in his ribs a chance to ease, which turned out to be a big mistake, as it gave him a second to think about his surroundings. He felt his heart immediately speed up, and a knot begin to grow in his stomach, as he suddenly felt the walls of the shoot begin to close in on him, and his breathing became erratic.

"Danny, you ok? You've gone quiet." Steve yelled concerned that the banter had suddenly stopped.

"I...I can't do this, Steve. It's too small." Danny panted.

"You mean you can't fit." Steve asked, wondering if the tunnel tapered off.

"No, it's just.., it's too closed in..., I can't..."

"Yes you can, Daniel. You're already halfway there." Steve tried to encourage.

"No, I can't, Steven. I need to get out of here." Danny panicked.

"Yes, you can, Danny. Take a second and calm your breathing. You can do it. I have faith in you."

Danny rested his head on his forearm and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing and trying to slow it down. His lungs were burning now, and his ribs ached unmercifully. Finally his heartrate slowed, and he felt his anxiety levels drop. Lifting his head once more, he focused again on the light ahead of him, and pushed off with his knees inching bit by bit to the opening.

"That's it Danny, you got this. You can do it." Steve continued to coach,

Finally, Danny's head poked out through the entrance, and he was able to hoist himself out of the shoot. "I did it. I'm out. I'm gonna go call for help." He yelled back down the shoot. "Don't go anywhere."

"Funny guy," Steve yelled back.

Danny ran around the side of the house and reached the Camaro. He had to take a second, once there, to catch his breath and wait for the dizziness to pass. His head had long since stopped bleeding, but he was pretty sure he had a concussion, to go with his broken rib and sore shoulder. All in all though he had been lucky, poor Steve was likely to be on crutches for some time to come.

Opening the car, he reached into the glove box and pulled out the sat phone to call for help, as he sat down in the passenger seat for a second.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve was really proud of Danny. He had overcome his fears to go call for help. He felt a little guilty that he hadn't been able to help himself, but Danny was right. His left knee was swollen to twice its normal size. He also felt dizzy if he sat up, a telltale sign of a concussion. His ribs on his left side also ached with each breath he took.

Alone now in the basement, Steve felt a little on edge, hoping that the rescue services would hurry. He shifted slightly to ease the pressure on his side, and jumped as something slid down the coal shoot and landed with a thud on the floor. Seconds later there was a grunt, and Danny's legs appeared, followed by the rest of his body. He slowly picked up the bag he had dropped down, and headed over to Steve.

"You came back down the damn shoot?" Steve asked amazed by his best friend.

"I thought it was probably safer than trying to climb, or jump down." Danny shrugged.

"You didn't have to come back. You could have waited up top for the rescue services."

"Shut up, you goof. What is it you army guys say? Never leave a man behind." Danny smirked.

"Navy, Danny, Navy. And yeah that's pretty much it."

"So you want the good news, or the bad news." Danny asked as he gingerly lowered himself down next to Steve, while bracing his ribs.

"There's bad news?" Steve asked looking unimpressed.

"Yeah, rescue services are on their way, but it's gonna take about 30 minutes to get to us." Danny explained.

"Ok, that's not too bad, I guess. What's the good news?"

"I rang Chin, and he and Kono have Pike in custody. His friend at the motel was hiding him. Pike sung him a sob story about being set up, and wanting to lie low until the real culprit was found. Pikes been booked, and so has the friend, for aiding and abetting."

"That is good news. In fact, that's great news." Steve smiled.

"Sure is." Danny said opening the first aid kit he had brought from the car. He grabbed some gauze and pressed it to Steve's head. "There isn't much here to help us, but I figured it would kill some time while we await rescue."

"Thanks." Steve said taking over holding the gauze, allowing Danny to pull away and roll his shoulder as a sharp pain shot through it.

"Come here. Let me take a look at your shoulder." Steve said beckoning Danny over. Danny slowly moved to sit by Steve's side, and Steve felt Danny's shoulder and rotated his arm. "Nothing feels broken." Steve announced then started undoing Danny's shirt.

"You know, I usually like to be wine and dinned first, and if I'm honest, you're not really my type." Danny joked.

Steve laughed, "I just want to see if it's bruised. It looks fine." He announced after inspecting it.

"I probably just pulled it." Danny surmised.

The rescue services arrived around 25 minutes later, "why do you guys always end up getting into trouble?" A voice called from above them.

Looking up, they saw Chin stood at the edge of the hole. "Good to see you Chin, but be careful, the whole floor is unstable." Danny called.

"It's ok, rescue made this bit safe, they are bringing in a ladder to get down to you guys." Chin called down, then side stepped slightly so the rescue guys could come through.

Soon the emergency crew were down and checking the pair over, "I'm fine." Danny reassured them, "but Steve's knee is busted. It was dislocated with no pulse. I managed to relocate it, and splinted it."

The medics quickly moved over to check Steve, and replaced Danny's make shift splint with one of their own. They then moved him into a rescue basket, and soon he was topside with Danny carefully climbing up the ladder behind him. Chin reached out and helped Danny up the last few rungs. "Take it easy, Danny. Steve's already at the ambulance and you're going with him. You both need checking out. I can see you're favouring one side, you ok?"

"Yeah, just a busted rib and pulled shoulder. I'm fine." Danny replied as he moved over to join Steve and brushed off help from the medic.

"Ok, I'll see you guys at the hospital, I'll follow on my bike." Chin said shutting the ambulance doors and banging on the back to give the all clear.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Steve was wheeled into an exam room, Danny following close behind, now holding his shoulder as the pain increased. Dr. Pearce finished speaking with the EMT's and entered the room. "Hi, guys, been in the wars again, I see."

"You could say that, doc." Steve replied, "We're just a bit beaten up."

"Come on Danny, I need you at least sitting on that gurney please, so I can examine you." She ordered.

"I'm good doc, check Steve over first. His knee was pretty messed up." Danny replied, still stood close to Steve's side."

"No, I'm going to give you a quick once over first. Steve has been examined by the medics and given pain relief. You on the other hand apparently refused medical care, so sit down so I can check you over."

Danny slunk over to the other gurney, and sat down allowing Dr. Pearce to start her exam. After a quick vital check she frowned, then checked Danny's head injury and then forced Danny to lie down so she could check his chest and shoulder. "Well, it looks like you have a mild concussion, and I suspect two broken ribs, but we'll need x-rays to confirm it."

"Ouch, that's got to hurt D." Steve said from where he was sat on his own gurney.

"Well you should know, the medics told me they suspect you have three broken ribs." Dr. Pearce said turning to face Steve.

"That figures, always got to go one better haven't you? I told you, you, were a topper." Danny joked.

"A topper? It's not like I had any choice in my injuries, Danny." Steve replied exasperated.

"Well you will both be getting chest x-rays to confirm our suspicions, and Steve, you will need x-rays on your knee to make sure everything is realigned as it should be. You both have concussions so will be staying overnight, whether you like it or not. Danny, I can't feel anything obviously wrong with your shoulder, but we will get an x-ray to be on the safe side. However, your blood pressure is a little on the low side, which concerns me. Do you have any other injuries?"

"No, it's just my rib, head, and shoulder that are hurting. You sure it's low 'cos it's usually sky high when I'm around this guy?" Danny said pointing to Steve.

Dr. Pearce gave a little laugh, "yes it's definitely low. We will re-check it in 5. I'm going to go arrange those x-rays."

"You two up for visitors?" Chin asked as he poked his head around the exam room door, then entered followed by Kono.

"Sure we are we're just a bit beat up. Did you get Pike booked in ok?" Steve asked.

"Sure did. And look what we found in his motel room." Kono said handing Steve her phone with photos on it.

Danny slipped off his gurney and moved over so he could look too, ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit him. "He was making another bomb?" He asked upon seeing the photos.

"Yeah, and he had lots of photos of Julia Lovegood on his walls, looks like she was his intended target. You ok Danny?" Kono asked alarmed as Danny suddenly swayed.

"Danny, go lay back down, doc said your blood pressure was low." Steve said concerned.

"Yeah, ok." Danny said turning around and grabbing his shoulder as pain ripped through it. He took a step forward towards his gurney, but he felt a sudden rush of heat spread over his body, and his ears started to buzz. He felt like there was a swarm of bees around his head. Black dots suddenly appeared in his vision, and he heard Chin talking to him, but couldn't make sense of what he was saying. He tried to take another step forward, but his legs felt like lead weights. His knees suddenly buckled and he crashed to the floor. All three team members shouted for help as they saw Danny's eyes roll back into his head.

**TBC**

**Did you really think danny would get away with just busted ribs and a concussion?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: of course Danny wouldn't get away that easily. It is my story after all. **

**Chapter Five**

Dr. Pearce, and a nurse, ran to Danny's side. They worked efficiently to secure an oxygen mask over Danny's face. Then Dr. Pearce quickly started examining her ailing patient. "Pupils look good. Chest sounds clear." She moved down to Danny's abdomen and paused for a second before ripping open his shirt to reveal purple bruises. "Sally, we're gonna need an OR. I'll get IV access."

The nurse, Sally, immediately left to make a call, while Dr. Pearce pulled over a trolley and started working to stabilise Danny.

"Doc, what's wrong?"

"His abdomens ridged, he obviously has some internal bleeding. Given the pain in his shoulder, I'd say it's his spleen. That explains why I couldn't find any damage."

"What? His shoulder was hurting, not his stomach." Steve asked trying to pull himself off the gurney more so he could see his partner better.

"It's called Kehr's sign. It's blood irritating the diaphragm and nerves, causing referred pain. Damn it, Danny, you can never do things by half's, can you? I should have done a full exam, I should know better than to listen to you lot when you say you're fine." Dr. Pearce berated herself.

"Doc, it's not your fault. He didn't complain of any abdo pain to me either." Steve tried to reassure the doctor who always did her best to care for them.

Sally returned with a gurney and an orderly in tow, and Chin and Kono helped lift Danny, while Steve watched on feeling helpless. Danny looked deathly pale, and his breathing was erratic. Steve was amazed at how long Danny's body had managed to compensate for the blood loss. He had managed to climb up the shoot, and back down again, despite having internal bleeding, and then made sure Steve was taken care of. Now he was being whisked away to surgery.

The three team members were left waiting in the exam room, until another nurse came in and informed Steve that he was going for his x-rays. He thought about refusing to go until he knew how Danny was, but Danny was likely to be in surgery for several hours before they heard anything, so he might as well get seen to, so he could be by his partner's side when he needed him. So Steve nodded and let them wheel him away, leaving the cousins looking shell shocked.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

X-rays done, and a knee brace in place, Steve had just been moved to a double room to rest. His nurse, a burly Hawaiian lady who was approaching retirement, was busy fluffing his pillows behind him. Steve was too tired, and too polite to ask her to leave him alone.

"Is it ok for us to come in?" Chin asked as he and Kono arrived at the door.

"It sure is, Hun." The nurse said straightening Steve's sheets then turned to leave. "Make sure he stays in that bed."

Chin nodded as she brushed past him and they moved into the room. "How you doing, Steve?"

"I'm fine, has there been any word on Danny?"

"Not yet." Kono replied taking a seat by Steve. "What did the doctor say about you?"

Steve sighed, "three broken ribs, a concussion and dislocated knee, which Danny did a good job resetting, so no permanent damage. Although I'm gonna be off my feet for a while until the swelling goes down."

"Sounds like you were really lucky. Chin told me how much of the floor gave way, it's a good job Danny did manage to get out and call for help. If you had had to wait until we realised you were missing it might have been..." Kono stopped unable to finish the sentence.

"I can't believe he managed to reset my knee, and climb out, even though he had internal bleeding." Steve said glumly. "He'll be ok, won't he?"

"I'm sure he will Steve, Danny is one of the toughest guys I know, even if he is a big softie at heart." Chin said trying to keep things positive.

Steve's nurse entered with an Ice pack and placed it over his knee, and Steve jumped. "Jeez, that's cold."

"It's ice, Hun, it tends to be. It should help with the swelling. Now do you need any pain relief?" She asked.

"No thanks. I'm good." Steve instantly replied.

"Hun, you don't need to act all tough around me. No need to be in pain."

"I want to keep my head clear. I need to know my partner is ok. I'm ok, really. I'm just uncomfortable." Steve replied. There was no way he was gonna allow himself to rest until he knew Danny was out of surgery and doing ok.

"Ok, let me know if you change your mind." The nurse said leaving the room.

An hour later, Chin, and Kono were exchanging worried glances. It was obvious Steve was in pain and tired. Although his concussion was mild, he obviously had a headache. Yet he still refused any pain killers or to rest. Instead he fidgeted nervously in his bed.

Elaine, his nurse entered the room with a drip stand and placed it by the empty bed in the room. She then turned on the monitor by the bedside, "I have good news for you. Your friend is out of surgery and doing well, once they are happy with him in recovery they are going to bring him here, so you two can share a room. I believe Dr. Pearce is on her way to bring you up to date with his condition."

"That's great news, thanks." Chin and Kono chorused together.

"Thanks, Elaine." Steve smiled.

"Now will you take some pain meds, Steve?" Kono asked.

"Not yet, once he is here and I can see for myself he's ok. Then I'll take something and rest."

Ten minutes later Dr. Pearce entered the room. "Hi guys. Steve, I'm sorry I had to run out on you like that, I trust Dr. Pace did a good job taking care of you."

"Yeah, he did doc, I'm fine just uncomfortable, and I'd much prefer you were with Danny. How is he?"

"He is doing well, there was a small tear to his spleen, which we managed to repair, and he should make a full recovery. He is going to be sore for a while, and needs to stay here for a few days, which I know will go down like a lead balloon. But all in all he was very lucky, you both were."

Steve rested his head back against his pillow and gave a big sigh. Swallowing he said, "thanks doc."

"You're welcome. I'm going to go check on him now, and hopefully all should be well to transfer him down here. I pulled some strings to get you in the same room, as Danny really should be on the surgical floor, but I though this would be the best way to assure you both stayed put rather than disappearing to find each other."

Kono and Chin smiled. "You really do know them too well doc." Chin laughed.

"Unfortunately, yes I do. Don't expect too much from Danny for the rest of the day. He is going to be very sleepy from the anaesthetic and pain killers. I suggest once he gets here, you get some rest, Steve. Elaine will be checking you both regularly for concussion checks, so it's likely to be a long night."

"I will, Dr. Pearce. I just really need to see Danny first. He faced one of his fears today to get us out of there, and all the time he was seriously hurt. I just need to see him and to thank him, even if he can't hear me."

"Very well. He'll be down shortly." She smiled and left the room.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: Thanks for the reviews. Time to reunite the team. **

**Chapter Six**

Twenty minutes later the doors were pulled open and Danny was wheeled in. Elaine pulled the curtains around the bed, to give Danny some privacy while she and the orderlies transferred him to the bed. The team heard Danny grunt with pain as he was obviously moved from the gurney to bed.

The orderlies then pushed the gurney from the room, leaving Elaine behind the curtain, taking care of Danny. She finally pulled back the curtain, allowing the team to get a proper look at Danny. He now seemed to be resting comfortably, propped up by several pillows. He looked pale, causing the small red cuts to his face to stand out in stark contrast. A nasal cannula was in situ, providing the prescribed oxygen, to accompany the patient controlled analgesia system that was keeping their friend pain free. Two IV's ran into his right arm, while a bulky oxygen monitor clip sat on the index finger of his left hand. Cardiac leads sneaked out from the top of his gown and connected to the monitor at the side of the bed, along with the blood pressure cuff wrapped around his right bicep.

Elaine stood watching the monitor and noting down Danny's vitals, a steady beep sounded with every beat of Danny's heart. Elaine looked over at Steve and smiled, "I can see the monitor from the nurse's station, so I'll silence the monitor here, so it doesn't disturb you."

"No, leave it." Steve called out. "I'd prefer to hear it."

Elaine gave a knowing smile. "Ok Hun. He is doing well, so I think it's time you got some rest now."

"Yeah, Steve, please get some rest, we will be here if Danny wakes and needs anything." Kono reassured.

"If he wakes and is in pain, he just has to push this button." Elaine said pointing to the control that was looped around Danny's wrist. "He had it explained to him in recovery but might just need a bit of reminding."

"Thank you." Chin said as Elaine left the team alone.

Steve was desperate to get closer to his best friend, but knew he would be in big trouble if he attempted it, and he didn't want to push his luck as the hospital team were likely to move him to a different room. Kono moved over to Danny's side pulled a chair up, and sat down taking hold of Danny's hand. Steve instantly felt better that Danny had the team looking out for him, so when Elaine popped back in with painkillers for him, he gratefully accepted them then lowered the bed so he could sleep. A matter of minutes later he was sleeping, lulled by the reassuring beep that meant his partners heart was still beating.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Two hours later Danny hadn't stirred at all, and while Steve had been restless he had remained asleep. Chin had nipped out and returned with coffee and paperwork for them to complete while the other half of their team slept.

Elaine entered the room as the cousins looked up to greet her. "I need to wake them both for concussion checks, I'm afraid." She explained heading over to Danny.

"Could you wake Steve first, I'm sure if you're gonna wake Danny, Steve will want to be awake for that." Kono asked softly.

"Sure, that's fine." Elaine smiled detouring over to Steve's bed.

"Actually, maybe I should wake him." Chin interjected. He can be a little...intense."

Elaine nodded in understanding, "go ahead Hun, my son is in the Air Force, so I know exactly what you mean."

Chin moved closer to Steve and gently shook his shoulder. "Steve, Steve. The nurse needs you to wake up. Steve."

Steve's eyes snapped open on the final call of his name, but thankfully he instantly realised who was calling him, and where he was. "Hey." He said sitting himself up.

Elaine quickly checked his pupils, memory and motor skills. Happy with the results she explained that it was Danny's turn.

"Am I ok waking him or will he go all ninja on me too?" She asked.

"You're safe with Danny." Kono reassured as Steve looked confused, he was sure he had missed out on a joke at his expense.

Elaine gently roused Danny and he blinked his eyes open. Elaine explained the checks that she needed to do, and he nodded his consent to her.

"All done, Hun, I'll be back in two hours." Elaine said moving away.

"Wait." Danny whispered. "Do you know how my partner is?"

"He's fine, see for your self." She said pointing over towards Steve.

Danny lifted his head a little more so he could see to the other side of the room. Then reached out for the bed remote and slowly sat him self up, sucking in a breath as he did so.

Elaine pointed to the pain control button, wrapped around Danny's wrist, and nodded with approval when Danny pressed the button, releasing much needed pain relief into his system. "I'll leave you all to catch up." She said and left the room.

"Hey partner, how you feeling?" Steve asked from the bed opposite.

"A bit sore I guess, tired. Are you ok?" Danny asked his eyes still sleepy.

"I'm good." Steve replied.

"Course you are." Danny smiled.

"Hey, you can't give me a lecture on hiding injuries this time Mr. I have internal injuries but I'm fine."

"In my defence, I didn't know I had internal bleeding, I thought I was fine. My stomach just felt a bit sore, which I thought was normal considering a beam fell on it."

"A beam?" Chin asked and Steve looked shocked to hear this news.

"When I regained consciousness, from the fall, there was a beam on my stomach. I had to push it off, but I really felt fine. It was my shoulder that hurt the most." Danny explained lines of pain obvious on his face.

"Apparently that was a sign of the bleeding." Kono said moving over to Danny's side and pressing the pain control button for him.

"Hey!" Danny croaked.

"Deal with it Danny. You're obviously still in pain." Kono said sitting down in the chair again.

Danny rolled his eyes but conceded that she had a point. "So you're really ok? What about your knee?"

"It's fine. Gonna be on crutches for a bit and a knee brace, and have to have some physio, but doc reckons I should be back on field work by the end of the month." Steve explained.

"That's good. I was worried I might have done more damage." Danny replied his eyes beginning to droop again as the bolus of pain killers Kono had administered started to take effect.

"You did a great job, Danny. You saved my leg. Thanks man. And thanks for getting us out of there Danny."

Danny shrugged his shoulders, relieved that the intense pain there had now gone. "It was nothing."

"No. It wasn't nothing, Danny. Don't underestimate what you did. You climbed up and down that chute despite your claustrophobia. I'm proud of you bud."

"You needed help, Steven. I had to do it." Danny said as his eyes slipped closed.

"No you didn't, but you did it anyway." Steve said, but only Chin and Kono heard as Danny's breathing deepened and he fell back asleep.

**TBC**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Danny was woken by a sudden thump. As he blinked open his eyes he saw the room was now in near darkness, indicating it was the middle of the night. He briefly remembered Chin and Kono bidding him a good night before they had headed home.

Unsure what had woken him, but realising it was a significant noise, he felt around the bed for the control. He slowly raised his head, breathing through the pain that racked up a gear as he moved. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he looked over to the bed opposite him, expecting to see Steve, but was surprised to find the bed empty.

A quick look around the room and he saw a chink of light coming from under the adjoining bathroom. "Steve." He called out concerned, and was rewarded by his partner swearing under his breath. "Steve, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Danny, don't get out of bed." Steve called back, but his voice sounded strained.

"Oh, I have no intention of getting up." Danny called back. "I'm not an idiot. You on the other hand... Are you ok?"

"Er... I think I could probably do with some help." Steve admitted.

"What the hell were you doing?" Danny asked as he looked around for his nurse call button.

"I needed the bathroom, what else do you think I was doing? Unless you're asking if it was a number one or number two, in which case, way too personal Danny." Steve joked.

"No, you idiot, I meant what are you doing out of bed on your own." Danny replied rolling his eyes then spotting the call button on his bed side table.

"I didn't want to bother the nurses, and felt a lot better, so I managed to hop in here because I don't have any crutches yet."

"There is a reason for that, Steven. You aren't supposed to be out of bed yet, unsupervised at least." Danny called back as he leaned over and had to brace his ribs as he grabbed hold of the call button.

"Well I was doing fine, until I finished washing my hands, then put a little too much weight on my leg. Think I'm gonna need some help getting back up."

"This is twice now I've had to save your ass. Do not start making a habit of it." Danny said hitting the illuminated nurse call button then turning on the bed side lamp.

"But you're the back up, Danny. It's what you're supposed to do." Steve shouted back to Danny's amusement.

"Is everything ok, Detective Williams?" A young nurse's aid asked from the doorway.

"Err, no. My idiot partner seems to have fallen in the bathroom and can't get up. For him to admit that must mean he is hurt pretty bad."

"Oh." the aid startled and quickly called for some help. Two nurses quickly came bursting into the room, and into the bathroom. Danny waited anxiously for news on his best friend, soon the aid left the room and returned with a wheel chair. Five minutes later Steve was being wheeled back to his bed, pain lines evident around his eyes and across his forehead, but he still managed to give Danny a guilty grin.

The nurses then helped Steve back into bed, and Danny's concern levels rose when he heard Steve yelp, as one of the nurses helped guide his leg onto the bed. The curtains were then pulled around the bed as a doctor arrived to examine Steve for additional injuries.

Danny lowered the head of the bed a little to ease the pressure on his abdomen and ribs, and waited for news on his friend. It wasn't long before one of the nurses left the curtained area, and headed over to Danny. "Doctor is just giving him the once over, why don't we do your concussion checks that are due soon, and then you can get some rest."

"Is he ok?" Danny asked as she shone the penlight into his eyes.

"For the most part, yes, Doctor is just worried about his knee." The nurse replied moving on to taking Danny's vitals. She then moved over to a draw and pulled out another bag of fluids and swapped them out for the almost empty one. "How's your pain?"

"It's fine." Danny lied not wanting to take any more pain relief in case it knocked him out before he knew Steve was ok.

The curtains were then pulled back and Steve's bed began to move. "Steve?" Danny asked wondering where his partner was going.

Steve didn't look happy, and pain was evident in his eyes. "I need another scan," Was Steve's simple reply.

"Now? In the middle of the night?"

"It's just precautionary." The doctor explained. "If there is any further damage, it may need surgery, and the sooner that happens, the better the result."

"Get some rest, Danny." Steve said attempting a smile to put his friend at ease as he was wheeled out of the room.

5-0-5-0-5-0-5-0

Danny of course didn't get any sleep, worried about potential damage to his friend, and a possible surgery. He needed to know the outcome of the scan before he could allow himself to sleep. Of course that meant he couldn't risk taking anymore pain relief. Now it felt like he had a fire in his gut, and his ribs hurt with every breath, causing him to take fast shallow pants.

His nurse from earlier came into the room with a concerned look on her face, "Danny, how you doing? You look in pain."

"I'm ok." He replied surprising himself at how weak his voice sounded.

She looked at him with a critical eye, her years as an experienced nurse telling her that all was not well. She grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around his arm, then checked the pain pump, while waiting for a reading. "Danny, you haven't used this at all since I last checked on you."

"I don't need it. I don't want it." Danny replied but knew he wasn't fooling her.

As his blood pressure popped up on the screen, she frowned. "Your blood pressure is sky high. You are obviously in pain, and exhausted, you need to use your pump and get some sleep."

"I will. As soon as I know Steve is ok." Danny replied and then was hit by a wave of nausea. He tried to take a deeper breath to wash away the sickness, but it just caused the pain to flair in his ribs and abdomen, which pushed him over the edge and caused him to wretch.

The nurse quickly grabbed a vomit bowl and tried to support Danny the best she could as he fought through the waves of dry heaves. When Danny dropped his head back against the pillow, doing his best to get his breathing back under control, it allowed her to turn to the pain pump and punch in the code to administer a bolus. "That should kick in fairly quickly. Just try to ease your breathing for me. Nice steady breaths."

"Is he ok?" A concerned voice came from Danny's right. He slowly turned his head to see Steve being wheeled back into the room.

"He decided to forgo any pain relief until you were back, and has managed to make himself feel lousy, but I just gave him a top up, so he should be fine soon." The nurse explained as Steve's bed was wheeled back into place.

Danny could feel the strong painkillers make their way through his system, and get to work easing the pain instantly. But with them came the fuzzy feeling that he had tried to avoid, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. With the last of his will power he forced his eyes open as he looked over to Steve. "How's the knee?"

"It's fine Danny, no surgery needed. Please get some rest you look like hell, buddy." Steve replied concerned by his best friend's pallor and the beads of sweat on his upper lip.

Danny saw that the pain lines on Steve's face had reduced, and he seemed settled enough, so he nodded, closed his eyes and let the pain killers and exhaustion take him under.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: many thanks for all your reviews. Sorry I haven't been able to reply individually but been busy with work the past few days, all reviews are greatly appreciated though. **

**Chapter Eight**

Chin and Kono returned the next morning and were surprised to find both Steve, and Danny, still sleeping. While both looked better than when they had left them the night before, Steve's knee looked even more swollen, and Danny still looked very pale and was connected to several monitors.

"Ah, the other half returns," Elaine said entering the room. "I hope you two aren't as hard work as these two."

"Have they been giving the staff a hard time?" Chin asked, knowing his friends' tendency to drive the staff mad.

"You could say that. They kept the night staff busy." Elaine chuckled as she exchanged Danny's bag of fluids.

Danny slowly blinked open his eyes, and smiled at the elderly nurse, and his team members.

"Morning, Hun. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better thanks." Danny said reaching for his pain pump and delivering another dose.

"Good to see you using that thing." Elaine smiled, then plumped Danny's pillow and helped him sit up more.

"Yeah, learnt that lesson, the hard way," Danny sighed.

"The nurse said you were giving the night staff a hard time, brah. Misbehaving again?" Chin questioned raising his eyebrows.

"Not me, Super SEAL." Danny replied looking innocent.

"Oh you caused your fair share of worry. This one here," She said pointing to Steve who slept on oblivious. "This one decided he was gonna take a midnight trip to the bathroom, only he ended up on the floor, while this one," Danny was sure he could feel the heat of her glare, and he felt like he was back in high school being told off by his English teacher. "This one made himself ill worrying about that one."

"Ill?" Kono asked scrutinising Danny for an explanation.

"It was nothing. I was reluctant to use the pain relief until I knew how Steve was. Unfortunately the pain got a bit too much." Danny replied trying to play down just how ill he had actually felt.

"Sounds like a typical hospital stay for these two." Chin said as Kono nodded.

Elaine laughed, "Well I'm back on duty today, and they will certainly be behaving." She said leaving the room.

Chin and Kono pulled over a chair each and sat nearer to Danny, leaving Steve to sleep. Danny filled them in on Steve reinjuring his knee, and then Chin and Kono filled Danny in on the Pike case.

Finally Steve woke and gave his three friends a dopey smile. "Morning, sleeping beauty," Danny called over.

"Sorry, I couldn't get back to sleep last night." Steve said rubbing his eyes then slowly sitting himself up, mindful of his broken ribs.

"Danny told us you rehurt your knee. Was it too painful?" Kono asked remembering how her own knee injury had kept her awake at night.

"No, doc gave me some codeine which settled it. But I couldn't sleep 'cos Danny looked dreadful, once I got back, and I half expected the alarms to start blaring." Steve answered honestly.

"You too are as bad as each other." Chin said shaking his head.

"So the nurse drugged me before I could find out how your knee really was. Is it really fine?" Danny asked concerned.

"It will be." Steve simply answered.

"So, no further damage?" Danny probed, knowing his partner was holding back.

"Nothing that won't heal, with time."

"And that would be?" Danny asked again, now getting concerned at Steve's coyness, so he sat himself up more, grimacing with pain as he did so, and stared directly at Steve.

"Ok, I may have a slight tear in my," the rest was muttered under his breath.

"Tear in your what? Steven." Danny demanded, as Chin gave Kono a smile, both relieved that the partners were back to bickering.

"My ACL, ok? I tore my ACL. But it will heal on its own, and I'll be back at work in no time. No bitching or moaning."

"Bitching or moaning? Are you implying I did so when you tore mine," Danny ranted, his hands waving wildly, and the IV's in his arm flapping around.

"A little," Steve smirked relieved to get the usual rise from his partner.

"Well maybe if you hadn't have taken great delight in walking faster, and insisting on taking the stairs, I wouldn't... You know what? I should have left you on the floor, hell I should have left you in the basement." Danny said crossing his arms then immediately regretting it as it hurt his ribs.

"What did I say about behaving," Elaine said standing at the door. "I do not want to even think what your blood pressure is."

"Sorry." Danny quickly answered.

"Sorry." Steve apologised.

"I was coming to tell you, that the physiotherapist is on his way with crutches for you." She said to Steve. "As long as he is happy you can manage, you can go home. I have your prescription, and you will need a follow up in a week."

"Great, thanks." Steve smiled.

"Lucky you," Danny sighed.

"Only a few more days, Hun, then you will be following suit. While the physio is with Steve, how about we get you out of bed?"

"Sure." Danny replied not liking the thought of being stuck in hospital for several more days. Rachel was due to leave the island the next day, and now Danny was going to have to ask her to stay longer. Not to mention he needed to tell her and Grace what had happened.

An hour later Danny was sat out in the chair, most of the monitoring equipment now gone, and pillows supporting him. Chin and Kono stood to one side as Steve signed his release paperwork.

"There you go." Elaine said passing the prescriptions to Chin. "Make sure he takes those, they will help with the swelling as well as the pain."

"That's everything? I'm a free man?" Steve asked.

"Sure are." Elaine confirmed.

"Great." Steve said standing with the help of his crutches then gradually making his way over to the visitors chair by Danny's bed, and lowering himself back down.

"You goof." Danny laughed as Elaine watched on in confusion. "Go home."

"Nope, not 'til tonight, then I'll be back first thing tomorrow. You know what we say Danny. Never leave a man behind."

**THE END**

**Still working on the next story. Hopefully won't be too long. **


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